Dr. Cynthia J. Arnson is director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Her most recent work has focused on democratic governance, conflict resolution, citizen security and organized crime, international relations, and U.S. policy in the Western hemisphere. Arnson is a member of the editorial advisory board of Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica, the Spanish-language edition of the distinguished journal Foreign Affairs. She is a member of the advisory boards of Human Rights Watch/Americas and the Social Science Research Council’s Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum. She served as associate director of the Americas division from 1990-1994, covering Central America and Colombia. In the early 1980s, as a consultant to Americas Watch, Arnson wrote many of the organization’s first reports on human rights conditions in El Salvador.

Arnson is the editor of In the Wake of War: Democratization and Internal Armed Conflict (Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Stanford University Press, 2012); and co-editor, with Carlos de la Torre, of Latin American Populism in the 21st Century (Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013). She is editor of Comparative Peace Processes in Latin America (Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Stanford University Press, 1999), co-editor (with I. William Zartman) of Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of Need, Creed, and Greed (Woodrow Wilson Center Press and The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005), and author of Crossroads: Congress, the President, and Central America, 1976-1993 (2d ed., Penn State Press, 1993). Since joining the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program in 1994, she has written or edited scores of Woodrow Wilson Center publications on Colombia and the Andean region, Central America, Argentina, Venezuela, China-Latin American relations, citizen security and organized crime, energy, human rights, and U.S. policy in the Western hemisphere.

Arnson served as an assistant professor of international relations at American University's School of International Service, 1989-1991. As a foreign policy aide in the House of Representatives during the Carter and Reagan administrations, she participated in the national debates over U.S. policy and human rights in the Southern Cone and in Central America. Arnson graduated magna cum laude from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and has an M.A. and Ph.D. in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Education

Ph.D., International Relations, and M.A., Latin American Studies, The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies; B.A., Government, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT

Subjects

Honors

American Fellow, American Association of University of Women Educational Foundation

Experience

Frequent writer and lecturer on Colombia and U.S. policy in Latin America; professor, American University; legislative assistant, U.S. House of Representatives; Associate Director, Human Rights Watch/Americas

Related Content for this Expert

In this op-ed, Latin American Program Director Cynthia J. Arnson outlines the reasons why the meeting today between US President Barack Obama and Uruguayan President Jose Mujica matters for the US. more

Drawing on their 2013 book "Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century," Latin American Program Director Cynthia J. Arnson and Carlos de la Torre examine recent political developments in Latin America in this article in Foreign Affairs. more

As civil unrest continues in Venezuela, we asked Latin American Program Director, Cindy Arnson, for an update on the sometimes violent situation. She provides insight into what’s happening, the government’s response, and whether or not the situation can be resolved any time soon. more

Latin American Program Director Cynthia J. Arnson comments on the relationship between El Salvador and the U.S. in this article about the new El Salvadoran President and the alterations to U.S.-Salvadoran relations that his ascension may cause. more

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Director Cynthia J. Arnson discusses the challenges that face multilateral attempts at greater integration between the United States and Central America, citing corruption, inept institutions and weak democracies as major concerns. This also appeared in The Sacramento Bee, Chicago Tribune, Technology News, TMC News, Aberdeen News and in many other media outlets.

Cynthia Arnson, Eric Olson and Chris Wilson and commented on the Obama’s trip to Mexico and Costa Rica. Their comments were mentioned in this article about the issues that are going to be discussed with Obama’s visit to the region. This was also published in Worldland news.

This article mentioned the Cynthia Arnson’s piece on Venezuela published on PBS. “The economy in Venezuela cannot afford anymore the government working as in the Chavez period. Maduro needs to make adjustments in economic policies, especially improving the productive efficiency in the Department of Petroleum,” starts the article in Chinese. (In Chinese)

Director Cynthia J. Arnson remarks on how politically divided Venezuela finds itself after its recent elections, which may have profound repercussions on Maduro's ability to govern the country effectively.

Director Cynthia J. Arnson weighs in on the lack of security in Venezuela and discusses how, despite significants reductions in poverty and inequality, insecurity has spiked dramatically in this South American country. (In Spanish)

An unexpectedly close outcome in the Venezuela election has resulted in charges of “irregularities” and the demand for a recount from opposition leader Henrique Capriles. Can the “Chavismo” movement survive without Hugo Chavez? We spoke with Latin American Program Director Cynthia Arnson to gain perspective on this and other questions.

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This teleconference call will discuss the impact on the politics and economy of Cuba and the regime’s motivation and strategy going forward. What are the benefits and risks of this policy shift? What is the relationship, if any, between economic incentives and a broader political opening? Why is the Cuban government interested in better relations with the United States? Join us BY PHONE as three U.S.-Cuba experts discuss what these policy changes will mean concretely for Cubans on the island.

What are China’s economic, political, and strategic interests in the region? And while China is the most important Asian partner for many Latin American countries, how have relations with other Asian countries—India, South Korea, Japan—also broadened considerably?

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This report explores the impact of China's growth on particular countries and on the region as a whole, the degree of partnership or competition with China, and the benefits as well as disadvantages of greater economic engagement between China and countries of the Western Hemisphere.

In July 2003, the government of President Álvaro Uribe took the unprecedented step of opening formal peace talks with the AUC. This publication is the collection of papers that resulted from a conference hosted by the Wilson Center to explore key issues in the Government-AUC peace talks, the prospects for an eventual negotiated settlement, and the key challenges ahead.

Presenting a carefully structured comparative analysis of six Latin American countries that experienced guerilla warfare that outlasted the end of the cold war, this volume explores the unique constellation of national and international events that allowed some wars to end in negotiated settlement, one to end in virtual defeat of the insurgents, and others to rage on.

Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of Need, Creed, and Greed questions the adequacy of explaining today's internal armed conflicts purely in terms of economic factors and reestablishes the importance of identity and grievances in creating and sustaining such wars. This collection of essays responds to current works asserting that the income from natural resources is the end and not just a means for warring rebel groups. The study puts greed in its place and restores the importance of deprivation and discrimination as the primary causes of armed conflict within states. Countries studied include Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Colombia, and Afghanistan. More about this title can be found on the Wilson Center Press website.

This report, based on a conference organized by the Latin American Program and the Brazil Institute, summarizes the multiple and complex perceptions held by Brazilians as well as a host of other countries in the region regarding Brazil's "emergence" as a regional and global power.

Cynthia J. Arnson is director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Robert S. Litwak is Vice President for Programs and Director of International Security Studies at the Wilson Center